I understand.
Number one, 20 years ago the number of brigades in Norway was 13. Today it's one. But this single brigade, I would say, is better for the need today than the 13 were. We had 15 different bases for our navy. Today we have one and a half. We had double the frigates, submarines, and air fighters. Today it's half.
This transformation was 10 to 15 years ago, and that's the main reason why today we are able to react very quickly. We have a smaller but much better defence sector today. That's number one.
Number two is NATO. When we are exercising with people like you, the United States, Spain, we learn a whole lot. We learn to communicate. We learn to speak English. We learn how to handle different kinds of equipment. We are a common power in NATO, able to react very quickly.
Let me underline the main reason in these documents, and what we are going to state in March next year, about why we still have a defence sector in Norway in deep peace. It's not international operations. The reason is deterrence at home in Norway.
Secondly, we want to take part in the UN and NATO operations in solidarity with the world, but I want to underline that when we are acting abroad, we are also building deterrence at home in Norway. People can see that our F-16s do the job. Our allies can see it, but also those who are not our allies can see it.
The answer is that it's a 20-year tough political job with very tough decisions. Before I was appointed Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence, I was fighting the government because a submarine base had been shut down in my hometown where I'm elected from, in Tromso in the high north. It was a bad decision for Tromso, but it was a very good decision for Norway. With fewer bases there is more time to sail on the sea.